You Again
by Agent R
Summary: Shortly after becoming engaged, Duncan and Amanda find themselves stuck in Detroit due to a cancelled flight, with Richie as the awaiting best man, and they meet up with 2 old friends who they wished they hadn't. Very funny, please read and review.
1. Default Chapter

Just Incase I See Ya  
  
Duncan had proposed to Amanda, and so far things were going pretty smoothly, well....almost. They decided to vacation over in Florida, but due to some bad weather, the plane landed over in Detroit.  
  
"I wonder how long the weather's going to keep us on the ground," Richie thought.  
  
"Long enough that we better look for a place to rent, it'll take longer than I'm willing to wait around here for," Duncan said.  
  
"Well then we better get going, it looks like the weather's just going to get worse," Amanda said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
They found a quaint house nearby, 2 stories, 23 rooms, low traffic, no neighbors, it seemed like the perfect place to stay.  
  
"Maybe you 2 should get married here," Richie laughed.  
  
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea, certainly is better than a lot of alternatives," Amanda said.  
  
At that point, a buzz hit all of them, Duncan went over to the front door only to be greeted by a face he hoped to forget.  
  
"Hello MacLeod, pleasant to see you here."  
  
Duncan jumped aside as Methos walked in, "I'm getting tired of this."  
  
"Then get a lock for the door," Methos said.  
  
"I do, I'll have to get it changed," Duncan said.  
  
"So Methos, I thought you were off wandering the world," Amanda said.  
  
"Will you stop it?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Stop what?" Amanda asked.  
  
"For Pete sake Amanda, we haven't been engaged for a month and you're still flirting," Duncan said.  
  
"I'm not flirting, I just asked him why he's here," Amanda said.  
  
"You did NOT say that," Duncan replied.  
  
"I came here because someone told me to meet them here!" Methos said.  
  
"Who?" Duncan asked.  
  
However, Duncan had an idea when the buzz came over him again, a motorcyclist came up the street and up the drive, and just about everyone was surprised to see who was back.  
  
"What's everyone staring at me for? Do I have leeches crawling all over me or something?"  
  
"Amber, what are you doing here?" Richie asked.  
  
"What? You get struck in the head or something? I told you, leave a note in the last place you stay and I'll find you, you did, and I found you guys here, so what's been happening since I went away?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well for one thing, these two fruit loops are engaged," Methos said.  
  
"No kidding....well it had to happen sooner or later," Amber said, "so Richie, why're you with them? You tagging along, or are you their live-in pain-in-the-neck?"  
  
"Neither, Mac assigned me to be best man at the wedding, he said should they plan to elope he wants me with them so I'll know when to pull out my monkey suit," Richie told her.  
  
"I wore one of those once, certainly a lot better than the dresses they had at graduation," Amber said.  
  
"Graduation?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Yeah, after I left, I got kinda bored with my life so I went back to school again, and I graduated this time....however they insisted I wear a dress to the ceremony or I'd fail, but I still managed to pull off wearing a suit...So, how long you guys going to be staying here?" Amber asked.  
  
"Wait a minute, I told you we were going to Florida, how'd you find us in Detroit?" RIchie asked.  
  
"Well, I found out which flight you booked and I found out that they had to land due to some horrible fog, so here I am," Amber said.  
  
"Wait a minute, the fog's even worse on the ground then it is in the air around here, how'd you get up here?" Richie asked.  
  
"I'm a human fog-horn, what's it to ya? I have my ways of going places, don't fool yourself," Amber said.  
  
Amber stepped in and over to Richie's suitcase and she pulled out a stun-gun, "what's this for?"  
  
"Oh you know," Richie said, "I figured I better pack it, you know, just incase I see ya."  
  
"Which you do...so now what're you gonna do?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well I know what I'm going to do," Methos grabbed his suitcase.  
  
"Oh no you don't! You're going out!" Duncan grabbed Methos and was ready to heave him out of the house when Amanda stopped him.  
  
"Duncan, you are NOT throwing our guest out of the house," Amanda said.  
  
"A guest? No, she's a guest," Duncan pointed to Amber, "But this thing is not a guest around here, hell, I'm not even sure we have enough room for these 2."  
  
"What are you talking about? Of course there's plenty of room for both of them," Richie said.  
  
"Shut up," Duncan muttered.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
However, after a few hours of quarreling, Duncan decided to let Methos stay since Amber had told him to meet her there.  
  
"I'll never find out what those 2 see in each other," Duncan said.  
  
"Well it obviously ain't something romantic," Amanda said, "come on, MacLeod, they're just friends."  
  
"I should hope so, Methos is 5,000 years old, if Immortals weren't barren, can you imagine what kind of kids they'd have?" Duncan asked.  
  
"That's disgusting," Amanda said.  
  
"So is just the thought of those 2 being friends, I don't know what they see in each other."  
  
"Maybe it's their taste in music, remember when Methos went through your CD collection? What did he have to say?" Amanda asked.  
  
"He said 'Opera, opera, opera, opera, a lot of opera here. Better do something about this music, there's no Springsteen, there's no Queen.'," Amber said.  
  
"Another nightcap?" Duncan asked.  
  
That was usually when she found out anything about Methos.  
  
"Are you kidding? After what you did at the party last month, I've given up alcohol, at least until I'm 120, by then I don't think the law can do anything with me," Amber said.  
  
"I don't think they can do anything with you now but I wouldn't put it past you," Duncan told her, "so tell me something, WHY did you want Methos to meet you here?"  
  
"I just feel comfortable having him around when I run into you guys, kinda like.....extra protection or something or other....he just seems like someone I've known for longer than I have," Amber said, "people like that are usually the ones who you usually end up keeping around."  
  
"Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind him staying here, providing he doesn't turn into a smart aleck," Duncan said.  
  
"Too late, I've been one since the 11th Century," Methos said.  
  
"I thought you said you haven't suffered guilt since the 11th Century," Duncan said.  
  
"What do you think started it?" Methos asked.  
  
"So," Duncan changed the subject, "how do you find your room?"  
  
"Up the stairs, across the hall and to the right," Methos replied.  
  
"I mean what do you think of it?!" Duncan flabbergasted.  
  
"Calm down, I know what you mean, you keep it up, that vein in your forehead's gonna blow," Methos told him.  
  
Duncan looked up and not only saw the vein sticking out, but he noticed that his eyesbrows about met his part, "Very funny...do me a favor, go into the kitchen and make a martini..."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And choke on the olive, if not the toothpick," Duncan said.  
  
"Duncan!" Amanda slapped him.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
That night, Richie had just gotten to sleep when the buzz hit him, two seconds later, Amber came charging into his room.  
  
"Richie, are you awake?" Amber asked.  
  
Richie knew there was no easy way out of this, so he sat up and turned on the light, "well I'm awake now, what do you want?"  
  
Amber jumped onto the empty side of the bed, "Can I stay with you tonight?"  
  
"What?" Richie asked.  
  
"Richie, I just had this horrible nightmare with all these crazy doctors and nurses and sturgeons-----aeka----a---surgeons and even crazier patients, one with a metal mask with nails driving into his head, one with a horse..both in a glass case, and this decayed head in a glass case screaming before it exploded!"  
  
"You saw that new House on Haunted Hill movie too, huh?" Richie laughed.  
  
"Richie, it's no laughing matter, that movie scared all common sense out of me!" Amber said.  
  
"That's impossible, I've known you since you were 10 years old, you didn't have any common sense then, you sure don't now," Richie told her.  
  
"Ricchhhhiiiiiiiieee!" Amber slapped him.  
  
"Allright, allright," Richie pulled down the covers on the other side, "jump in."  
  
"Gladly, in a choice between you and Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt," Amber mocked an English accent, "I'd take you any day."  
  
"Of course, you know I'm too stupid to perform unnecessary surgery on anyone," Richie said.  
  
Amber pulled off her boots and slipped into bed, 2 minutes later, she was out cold, and so was Richie.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
The next thing Richie knew, the sun was practically blinding him even with his eyes closed, he checked the clock, 6:00 A.M.  
  
"What a night," he groaned, "allright Amber, time to get up."  
  
Amber just groaned turned to the other side, the next thing Richie heard from her was heavy breathing, almost snoring. He turned around and saw she was more or less dead to the world.  
  
"I guess you just wanna sleep in, huh?" Richie asked.  
  
Amber moaned in agreement and continued with the heavy breathing.  
  
"Okay, suit yourself, when you act alive, you know where to find me," Richie said.  
  
Richie got dressed and headed downstairs.  
  
"So where's the little terror? Amber..." Duncan said.  
  
"Sleeping," Richie said.  
  
"Odd, I've never known her to sleep in, I recall one time when we were still in Germany...5 in the morning she woke me up....stomping around on my stomach," Duncan said.  
  
"Well, she's been on the road for what....about a month?" Amanda asked, "I've done that, it wears you out, it's not pleasant."  
  
"Well...I better see when the next flight leaving for Florida is, the weather's suddenly taken a change for the better, maybe we can get out of here soon," Duncan said.  
  
A few minutes after Duncan left, Methos came down looking half alive, the other half looked like he returned from the Grateful Dead.  
  
"Hey Methos, whoa......how'd you sleep last night?" Richie asked.  
  
"I believe I've had better, like in 1899, 2 fools put me on a rack and tried to stretch me out to 6'2," Methos said.  
  
"So, how tall are you?" Richie asked.  
  
"Well they about made me that except the rack broke in the middle of the night, they left me on all night and apparently it wasn't built for 24 hour use," Methos said, "so...where's your girlfriend?"  
  
"My what?" Richie asked.  
  
"Amber."  
  
"Oh her...she's asleep."  
  
"In your room."  
  
"How'd you know?" Richie asked.  
  
"Come on kid, I'm not stupid," Methos told him, "I heard her go in at 2 last night...so, what's she doing in there?"  
  
"Methos!" Richie said.  
  
"Don't 'Methos' me, I might know how she got in there, but I'd like to know WHY," Methos told him.  
  
"I don't know, I was half asleep when she told me, all I remember is doctors, nurses sturgeons and a decayed head screaming," Richie said.  
  
"Sounds familiar..."  
  
"Movie..."  
  
"No, back in 1940 during WWII with everyone at the mercy of Adolf Hitler, everyone wanted him dead," Methos said.  
  
"What mercy did he have?" Richie asked.  
  
"None! That's WHY they wanted him dead," Methos said.  
  
"Talking to you is like listening to an audio History book," Richie said.  
  
"What do you expect after 5,000 years?" Methos asked.  
  
"How should I know? I haven't even been around for 30 years," Richie replied, "and 3 of which I spent in the ground."  
  
"So...after that ruckus, what happened with you 2?"  
  
"Nothing, 2 minutes after she came in the room, we were both out cold...and after that I got no rest, first I dreamt that I was a skitzo doctor in an institution and she was a patient due in surgery, then I dreamt I was a coroner and she was rolled in, and then I dreamt that I was in Calcutta and she handed me this tiiiiiiiinnny shrunken head," Richie said.  
  
"Duncan's?"  
  
"My own!"  
  
Richie expected Methos to explode in disbelief, but instead, he seemed to enjoy what he heard, in fact, he was laughing, almost hysterical.  
  
"What's so funny?" Richie asked.  
  
"I'm just trying to picture.....you two together without trying to kill each other....sounds just about impossible, but I wouldn't put it past you."  
  
"Are you kidding? We hate each other, all we ever do IS try to kill each other," Richie said.  
  
"Sure, that's how it starts, but then..."  
  
"Oh God, Methos, I'm really not in the mood for that now, I've had a hard night, I don't want to talk with you about women, my future, sex and all that nonsense, there's nothing going on between us!" Richie said.  
  
"That's what they all say at first," Methos told him, "just tell me one thing, why do you think she went in your room last night?"  
  
"Easy................I have no idea."  
  
"It's only obvious, she went in your room because she trusts you, she knows you're not an ordinary every day shmuck," Methos said.  
  
"Thanks a lot," Richie grunted.  
  
"Seriously, I've seen the way you two get along."  
  
"If you were paying attention, you'd know we DON'T get along at all."  
  
"Exactly, the best way to start off."  
  
By now, Richie's face was twisted up as he tried to say something, but nothing of real meaning came to mind, "There's something I'd like to know...did you ever work with Dr. Ruth?"  
  
"Hardly, Freud yes, Jekyll perhaps, Frankstein most probably, but not Dr. Ruth," Methos said, "now look kid, I know what I'm talking about, she loves you."  
  
"She does not," Richie replied.  
  
"Yes she does, you don't see her jumping into my bed because of a cheap horror film," Methos said.  
  
"She likes you."  
  
"Yes, she likes me as a friend, but she likes you as something else."  
  
"Yeah...a corpse."  
  
"You take my word for it, there's something between you 2."  
  
"Between us? Yeah, a Cobray 9/11."  
  
"You'll see, believe me or not, something's going to happen."  
  
"Yeah, something's going to happen allright, Mac and Amanda are gonna get married and I'm gonna be best man, and knowing her, she'll probably eat the rice and then belch it up after the kiss."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"How soon until we can leave for Florida?" Amanda asked.  
  
"The earliest flight heading out is a week," Duncan said.  
  
"Wonderful, what're we going to do in the meantime?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I wish I knew, but I guess we're just going to have to make the best of it," Duncan said.  
  
"Best of what? Staying in Detroit for a week with 500 ruthless people?" Amanda asked, "half of them are obscene, the other half goes to the police station regularly, and the miscellanious few left are going out of town to buy back their radios."  
  
"It's not that bad Amanda," Duncan said.  
  
"Not that bad? Amanda repeated.  
  
"It could be worse," Duncan said.  
  
"How?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Trust me, it just could be, just be thankful it's not," Duncan said.  
  
By which he meant, we could be stuck here with just Methos, then we'd be in trouble, but Duncan decided not to bring up the matter. Well, now they just had to think of a way to keep away from each others' necks for the week.  
  
End of chapter 1 


	2. Step One

Step One  
  
As 10:00 rolled around, Richie was less than pleased to see Amber come down the back stairs, but decided to be enthusiastic about it.  
  
"Hey, look who's alive!" he said.  
  
"Shutup," she replied.  
  
"Okay," Richie said, "so, how was your night?"  
  
"You mean before or after?" Amber asked.  
  
"After."  
  
"I slept like the dead....oh yeah, sorry about last night..."  
  
"Well I don't guess I can really blame you, I don't know anyone who could stand to watch that movie without flipping out one way or the other," Richie said.  
  
Amber gave him a cold glare, like the way cats looked at people when they were angry, with Amber, it was a look that said 'what about you?'  
  
"The first time I saw it, I was so freaked out I didn't see my doctor for a month."  
  
"What's so bad about that?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well normally I don't keep my doctor waiting, she was wondering why I was gone for so long," Richie said.  
  
"Dr. Shelly Rosco?" Amber asked.  
  
"Yeah, how did you know that?" Richie asked.  
  
"Ain't that something, we're completely different from each other, always avoiding each other at every point, yet we have the same female physician," Amber said.  
  
Richie went into shock and fell down in his chair.  
  
"Something wrong?" Amber asked.  
  
Richie pulled himself up on the table, pointed his finger at Amber and was going to say something, he got his mouth open, and the first sound off his tongue, but after that, his mind went blank.  
  
"I........"  
  
"What?" Amber asked.  
  
"I forgot what I was going to say," Richie muttered, "lucky stiff."  
  
"So what's this I hear about you being best man at Mac and Amanda's wedding?" Amber asked.  
  
"What's this I hear about you wanting Methos to meet you up here?" Richie asked.  
  
"Well, I...I just...I wanted him to be here when I broke the news, I figured maybe that way, Mac wouldn't get too much a chance to beat me to pieces."  
  
"Well you couldn't be pregnant," Richie said.  
  
"W...Well...I...it's......well you see Richie, I was staying at a place in Mrytle Beach until these guys came looking for me..."  
  
"Immortals?" Richie asked.  
  
"No, more like the South Carolina police, they tore up the place, they shot up the house, they probably confiscated everything, all I got with me's all I got," Amber said.  
  
Richie watched as Amber became uneasy, it sounded like she'd been in a rut lately.  
  
"They caught me when I was about to get out of the town, they would've locked me up but I escaped, now I'm afraid they've about caught up with me," Amber said.  
  
"What did they arrest you for?" Richie asked.  
  
"I don't know, they never said," Amber said.  
  
"And you're worried if Mac finds out, he's going to throw you out?" Richie asked.  
  
"Could you blame him? I'm not the easiest person to get along with," Amber said.  
  
"Neither am I, but he kept me," Richie said.  
  
"That's different, he hates me," Amber said, "besides I don't think he'll want me when it's this close to his wedding."  
  
"Of course he will," Richie said, "I know, you can be the bride's maid."  
  
"Am I going to have to wear a dress?" Amber asked.  
  
"It'll depend, if it's a casual wedding, maybe, if it's an elopement, probably not," Richie said.  
  
"How fast can we get those two eloped?" Amber asked.  
  
Richie could tell behind the attitude, Amber was upset.  
  
"Amber, look...Mac's crazy about you, I know he is otherwise he wouldn't have put up with you for as long as he has already..."  
  
Amber stopped resisting the inevietable and started crying, Richie knew there was something seriously wrong, normally she'd be as numb as possible. So he did the only thing he could think of, he took her in his arms and tried to calm her down.  
  
"Richie....I don't know what I'm going to do....I got nowhere to go....."  
  
Richie had an idea, he just wasn't sure if Duncan would be up to it.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I don't believe this," Duncan paced across the bedroom floor.  
  
"Mac, you remember how much trouble I got into with the police."  
  
"Not that!" Duncan exclaimed, "I can't believe she brought Methos along for protection!"  
  
"Well can you blame her?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I don't know anymore!" Duncan replied, "there are times I hardly know myself."  
  
"I know the feeling myself," Methos walked in.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Just wondering if you're up for playing the role of father," Methos said.  
  
"What're you talking about?" Duncan asked.  
  
"The police are here, and I don't think they're after one of us!" Methos told him.  
  
"WHAT!?"   
  
Duncan ran over to the window and saw 2 police cars in the streets, however, they never heard any sirens as they came up the road.  
  
Downstairs, one officer had pinned Amber to the wall by her neck, she was starting to turn blue when Richie came down and pulled him off of her and threw him against the other wall.  
  
"Richie!"  
  
"Calm down you," Richie said.  
  
"Who are you?" the officer asked him.  
  
"Don't tell me you never heard of Yung, Mung and Chung," Methos said, pointing to himself, Richie and Amber.  
  
"Never heard of them, what do they do?" the officer asked.  
  
"It's a family business," Methos started to explain.  
  
"Family?" the second officer asked.  
  
"Hey, you've seen the Adams Family, which family would you consider weirder?" Amber asked.  
  
"Look Mr. Mung," the fist officer said to Richie, "we have a warren to take your friend into custody, an Amber Jenzon."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Methos lied through his teeth, "this is our cousin, Rosemary Chung."  
  
"But we have a warrent that says..."  
  
"I don't care what that paper says, this is our cousin, and now if you'll excuse us," Richie said, "you're interrupting a family get-together."  
  
"Sorry," the second officer said.  
  
"DON'T APOLOGIZE TO THEM!" the first officer said, "now look here!"  
  
"Now see here!" Duncan came down the stairs, "What's all this noise?"  
  
"Hitler here thinks Rosemary is a felon," Methos said, slightly jabbing Duncan in the ribs.  
  
Duncan quickly caught on to it and decided to go along, hell, this would probably be the most fun he had while they were in Detroit.  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that they think...sweet little Rosemary," Duncan fronted his best imitation of an Italian accent, "is a criminal?"  
  
"That's what they say," Richie said.  
  
Amber tried not to laugh at Richie, either his voice was still cracking, or he was making a mockery of Chico Marx.  
  
"Now see here Mister...."  
  
"Lezarro...I'm Frankie Lezarro, and I can honestly say that I don't know where you come off calling my niece a criminal. Sure she might be trying sometimes, and sure, she may have noticable trouble staying serene, and she might not have good table manners, and sometimes you just might wanna smack her, but that's what makes her a teenager," Duncan said.  
  
The cops were about to start up again, but Duncan and Methos grabbed them and threw them out of the house.  
  
"Good day and thank you for coming," Methos said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Step one Amber, is if you're going to be a part of our family, then you have to know when to let us know if something's wrong, much like what just happened with the police!" Duncan exclaimed.  
  
"Stop yelling at her!" Amanda said, "Do you remember when we met up again and you set off that alarm bringing in the police?"  
  
"So? That was different, you were a thief, she was never told what she was arrested for," Duncan said.  
  
"Look, I didn't come here to get mixed up in a family feud, I'm getting out of here!" Amber stormed out the back door.  
  
Amber jumped on her motorcycle and was about to get it started when Richie came out and snagged her off it.  
  
"What in the hell was that for?" Amber asked.  
  
"Come on."  
  
Richie took Amber back into the house, more or less dragging her in.  
  
"Amber, why didn't you just tell me what was going on?" he asked.  
  
"I did..."  
  
"I mean sooner, or for that matter, why didn't you tell anybody?" Richie asked.  
  
"Because I figured it'd be easier to break the news if I wore out my welcome," Amber said.  
  
"That makes sense...look.."  
  
"What did Duncan mean by part of their family?" Amber asked.  
  
"Huh?" Richie asked.  
  
"He said if I'm going to be a part of his family, what's he mean?" Amber asked.  
  
"I think it's an open invitation to live with him," Richie said.  
  
"See ya..."  
  
"Get back here!" Richie snagged her by her shirt, "what is it?"  
  
"Richie, you cannot be serious if you think that Duncan and Amanda would want me moving in with them, it's ridiculous," Amber said.  
  
"No it's not," Richie replied.  
  
"Yes it is," Amber returned.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"No it's not, Duncan and I made a decision earlier," Amanda said.  
  
"What's that?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well, we decided since the police have pretty much eliminated any chance of you going back to South Carolina, then you can stay with us as long as you have to," Amanda said.  
  
"I don't get it, why're you guys trying to be nice?" Amber asked.  
  
"Well, I started thinking, it wouldn't exactly be fair if Richie was the best man at the wedding and we didn't have a bride's maid," Amanda said.  
  
"Again with this bride's maid business, are you two going to be eloping or what?" Amber asked.  
  
A few seconds later, Duncan kicked the door open and came in yelling, "EUREKA!"  
  
"Hey you don't smell so good yourself," Amber said.  
  
"Amber, pack your suitcase, we're getting out of here," Duncan said.  
  
"Where to?" Amber gritted her teeth.  
  
"Georgia, there's a flight heading out there in about 3 hours, it should take about 2 hours to get there, then I checked and there's a flight heading to Florida in about 6 hours," Duncan said.  
  
"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Amanda said.  
  
However, that plan didn't go over so well either.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Apparently the weather is on someone else's side this week," Methos said.  
  
"Fogged out again, this is ridiculous," Amanda said.  
  
"Well, I suggest we find a place for rent in this place, otherwise we could be in trouble," Richie said, looking through a newspaper.  
  
"Where's Amber?" Duncan looked around.  
  
"She went to call someone," Amanda said.  
  
Duncan set the back of his head against the chair and looked around, apparently a lot of flights had come to an immediate stop because of the weather.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Duncan sighed as he lit a cigarette, "in fact, I think I'd go as far to say that things can get any worse than..."  
  
"MacLeod!"  
  
"Wha...." Duncan gulped down his cigarette as his jumped up in excitement, he turned around and saw Joe.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Duncan asked.  
  
"I don't know, a couple of days ago, I got a call from someone, telling me to get down here from Seacouver, I got down here, and a few hours ago, the same guy told me to meet him in the airport," Joe said.  
  
"Strange," Duncan thought, "who would...."  
  
Duncan and Joe turned, with not so wandering eyes pointed at Methos.  
  
"What the...."  
  
"You think he arranged this?" Joe asked.  
  
"I don't think, I know," Duncan told him.  
  
"I don't think you know either, but how could he put all this together?" Joe asked.  
  
"Let me guess," Duncan walked over to Methos, "at one point in your life, you were a part-time weatherman too, huh?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Methos laughed.  
  
"Now see here!" Duncan yanked him out of the chair, "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? You knew that we'd get stuck in Georgia!"  
  
"Maybe I did, so what?" Methos asked.  
  
Duncan didn't know what to say, his mind was too fried at the moment, maybe it was from suddenly seeing Joe again, or maybe it was because of Methos, or maybe because the cigarette he swallowed was still burning.  
  
End of chapter 2 


	3. Friends? Never

Friends? Never  
  
Duncan and Amanda found a place for rent where they could stay for the time being, Amber had met up with one of her local friends and would be staying with him until the next flight, and Richie, Methos and Joe appeared to be along for the ride.  
  
"So why'd you want Joe to come to the airport?" Richie asked.  
  
"You wouldn't understand, you're too smart," Methos said.  
  
"Joe said he'll be coming over tomorrow so we can catch up a bit," Duncan said.  
  
"Catch up? On what?" Methos asked, "the fact that his bar turned into a bonfire?"  
  
"I haven't spoken to him for a few weeks, it'll be nice to hear what I've missed," Duncan said.  
  
"I'm guessing about 10,000 feet of fire," Methos said.  
  
"Enough!" Duncan said.  
  
"So when's the wedding?" Methos asked.  
  
"Why?" Duncan asked.  
  
"I'm just asking, if you're going to elope, I'll be glad to marry you," Methos said.  
  
Duncan wasn't sure how to take what Methos just said, so he decided to be humorous, and hope to find a way out of the conversation.  
  
"Thank you, but I'm already spoken for," Duncan siad.  
  
"No, no, no," Methos replied, "for about 200 years I was an ecclesiastical student, graduate, and former priest."  
  
"That might come in handy," Richie said, "they planned on getting married in Florida, Mac even called a priest in Tampa, but then we got stuck in Detroit when we were supposed to meet him to see if it would be a good idea, now we're stuck in Georgia and we don't know any priests around here. And we can't have a fancy wedding in a church around here because I'm not Catholic."  
  
"Haven't you ever been in a church before?" Methos asked.  
  
"Hardly, I never knew anybody who died who had a good enough reputation for the services to be held at a church," Richie said.  
  
"Providing we don't have to take YOU on the honeymoon with us, I suppose if worst comes to worst, you can fill in for the priest," Duncan said.  
  
"Gladly," Methos said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Early the next day, Joe pulled in the driveway and got out of his car, only to be greeted by 3.4 friends.  
  
"Boy MacLeod, I still can't believe that you're finally going to get married," Joe said.  
  
"I had trouble believing it myself when I first heard," Methos said.  
  
"Hey Joe, how come you've got suitcases in your car?" Richie asked, apparently as he brought them in.  
  
"Long story."  
  
"No problem, we can't leave Georgia for at least another 6 days," Richie said.  
  
"Well I figured since I know who's bright idea it was that I come down here, I'll be heading back to Seacouve soon," Joe said.  
  
"How? You can't get a flight heading out of here for at least a week," Richie said.  
  
"Joe...forget it, you're staying here with us," Duncan said.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Joe asked, "It's bad enough around here with Jekyll and Hyde, now you want me too?"  
  
"Sure, why not? I hear to get married you have to have 2 witnesses anyway," Duncan replied.  
  
Duncan and Richie headed back out to his car to get the rest of his bags, a few seconds later, they heard someone screaming, and Amber came running out of the house, around the car, and surprisingly enough, she managed to slip through Duncan's legs.  
  
"Amber, what're you doing out here? It's below freezing!" Richie said.  
  
"Don't worry about me, they say when you move fast, you hardly notice the cold," Amber replied.  
  
"Get back here," Richie snagged Amber, "What's going on?"  
  
"Assault of an senior citizen," Joe came out the front door, "this maggot here, came in through the back door while I was standing behind it, threw hot coffee on me, and knocked me down as she ran out here."  
  
"I thought you were staying with Jimmy, and Bud, and Suicide and whoever the hell your friends are," Richie said.  
  
"I was, but then I remembered something and I had to come back here, how was I supposed to know Joe was behind the back door?" Amber asked.  
  
"Why didn't you come around front?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Because I had to take a shortcut through the back alley because I....never mind," Amber replied.  
  
"What'd you remember that you forgot?" Richie asked.  
  
"I don't know, I forgot," Amber said.  
  
"Well, until you can remember, I suggest you stay with us, you're less likely to forget it again," Duncan said.  
  
"Is Joe staying here?" Amber asked.  
  
"Yes he is," Joe scoffed.  
  
"In that case, I'd like to stay, but I've gotta run," Amber said.  
  
"Don't worry," Richie snagged her again, "I'll see to it that you don't have anymore run-ins with Joe."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Well Joe, is there anything I can get you?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yeah, if you could get me a good mechanic to come look at my car, it'd be great, the thing is a piece of junk," Joe said.  
  
"Like you, huh?" Amber asked.  
  
"That thing's been a piece of trash for the last 6 months, if someone could just take it off my hands, I'd be a happy man," Joe said.  
  
"I'll be glad to take the lemon," Amber said, "I need all the practice I can get."  
  
"For what?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Bring the car around back and let's take a look at it," Richie said.  
  
"I can't park the car in back, there's no room in the yard!" Amber said.  
  
"Go get it!" Duncan told her.  
  
Amber went out to Joe's car, started it up, turned it on its side, and rammed it into the back yard between Duncan's car and Richie's motorcycle, everyone heard the noise and came out to see what was going on.  
  
"And I thought there was no more room here, I'm such an idiot," Amber stepped out of the car.  
  
"What the hell did you do that for?" Joe asked.  
  
"I told you, I need the practice, there's a demolition derby on Saturday, I'm entering," Amber said.  
  
"Why?" Duncan asked.  
  
"It's for a good cause," Amber said, "this Harvard grad student is in the hospital with a rare problem, she'll need an operation, and it's real expensive, so people find sponsors, they enter the demolition, and in a case like this, every sucker I run off the road is $100 towards the surgery."  
  
"How much is the surgery going to cost?" Richie asked.  
  
"About $6,000," Amber said.  
  
"How many people are entering this derby?" Richie asked.  
  
"About 35," Amber said.  
  
"Count me in," Richie said.  
  
"Richie, I've seen you pull a lot of stunts on your bike, but I don't think I've ever seen you pull anything in a car," Amber told him.  
  
"Well that's where you don't know me," Richie said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"You're going to do what?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I'm entering a demolition derby on Saturday, is that really so awful?" Duncan asked.  
  
"In theory, no," Amanda said.  
  
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Well what if you crash, and you revive when the paramedics are ready to get you to the autopsy room? How are you going to explain something like that?" Amanda asked.  
  
"If I get blown up, and they think I died, I don't think I'll need to explain it, they'll be carted off to a psychiatrist," Duncan laughed, "besides, Methos is entering too, so is Richie, and so is Amber."  
  
"And you're okay with that?" Amanda asked, "you'll be running your friends off the road."  
  
"Not quite, Richie's seeing to it that we don't get around to that," Duncan said.  
  
"How? Is he going to pop out of the trunk of his car dressed like a pirate, and terrorizing people?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Don't be stupid," Duncan said, "Richie's putting a bomb in his car..."  
  
"Oh, that's smart," Amanda sarcastically scoffed.  
  
"You didn't let me finish," Duncan said.  
  
"He's putting a bomb in his car, and he's setting it to go off at the estimated time when we'll be the only opponents left," Duncan said.  
  
"How can he do that?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Well, the derby starts at 11:00 tomorrow morning, and we've estimated with 4 of us in the derby against 35 other people, we should have the majority of it over by 11:45," Duncan said.  
  
"And suppose it's not?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Will you quit worrying? Nothing's going to happen," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Nothing's going to happen, Amber, Mac and I estimated the time that it should take to get everyone else off the road, then when it's only us left, I jump out the passenger window right before the car goes up in smoke," Richie said as he headed out to the car.  
  
"I never said anything was going to happen, I just said be careful, don't do something you'll regret," Amber said.  
  
"You're really worried, aren't you?" Richie asked as he lifted the hood.  
  
"I guess, it just feels like I've got a brick just laying on my stomach, I don't know if it's worry or not," Amber said.  
  
"Well, quit worrying, you remind me of someone I used to know," Richie said as he took out the carberator.  
  
Amber guessed by Richie's tone that he was talking about Tessa, so she quickly changed the subject.  
  
"So what do you say Rich, friends?"   
  
"No," Richie replied, "We're more like family."  
  
"You really believe that, don't you?" Amber asked.  
  
"Somebody has to," Richie said.  
  
"What're you doing with that carberator?" Amber asked.  
  
"This thing needs to be cleaned, otherwise it's going to be coughing like an old man," Richie said, "now come on, we've got a lot of work to do before the derby tomorrow."  
  
End of chapter 3 


	4. The Problem

The Problem  
  
10:20 the next morning, everyone headed out to the grounds, there was quite a crowd gathering for the show.  
  
"God, Richie, look at all these people, they're really coming out here to see us ramming into each other's fenders?" Amber asked.  
  
"It would seem so," Richie said, "let's see, what time is it?"  
  
"10:25," Duncan said.  
  
"Okay, that means in about 80 minutes, we should have everyone else run off the road."  
  
Richie opened the hood, reached in at the bomb and set the clock, then closed the hood before anybody could notice.  
  
"Duncan, I still don't like you doing this," Amanda said.  
  
"Well, I know you don't approve, but after we get married, I'll see if outside beheading other Immortals, I can keep my life down to a dull roar," Duncan said.  
  
"What're those guys doing?" Joe pointed to some of the other people in the derby.  
  
"Our cars have no windows, that way, they can try just about anything underhanded, including throwing flour in other people's faces," Methos explained.  
  
"Richie, I'd still rather you switch cars with me," Amber said.  
  
"Will you quit worrying? I told you, I've got the thing figured out, besides, I've got better chances of getting out of this car before it blows than you do," Richie told her.  
  
"Richie, I've got a bad feeling about this," Amber said, "I'm not feeling so good."  
  
"You wanna stay out of this?" Richie asked.  
  
"No...I'm the reason you guys are in this derby, I might as well go along with it," Amber grabbed her helmet, "wish me g'luck."  
  
"Kid, I don't think you need it," Richie muttered to himself.  
  
Time passed and the derby started, everyone got off on a slow start, then they sped up and started bashing into each other, Richie seemed to be the most experienced with that, Duncan seemed somewhat used to it, Methos on the other hand had a few tricks up his sleeve. Every time he came across an opponent, he got his car to jump off the ground and it skid across the hood of the next car, bashing the frame for the windshield, causing the drivers to run themselves off the road. Amber on the other hand didn't bother getting her car up, she rammed across the front of the cars, busting the lights scratching the hood beyond repair, and causing the drivers to crash.  
  
A few minutes into it, Duncan appeared to be having trouble with his car when it stopped in the middle of the grounds, a '57 racing Chevy was about to crash into him when Duncan hit the car and got it started again. Methos drove next to another car, and with one hand gripping the wheel, he jerked the other driver to the side by his jacket. So his car followed Methos side by side for the next few turns.  
  
"He's lost his mind," Amanda said, looking through a pair of bionoculars.  
  
"I don't think so," Joe replied, "look."  
  
Making a sharp turn, Methos let go of the driver and went the other way as the Chevy crashed into a T-bird.  
  
"Two down," Methos scored.  
  
Methos turned and saw he narrowly missed crashing into Amber as he jerked the wheel to steer away.  
  
"Close call," Amber gasped.  
  
Richie got a kick out of gliding side-to-side, bashing into 2 cars at once, until they finally crashed. Richie made a sharp turn, he put enough force into it, that it jumped off the ground and glided off the trunk of a Cadillac and bashed into the behind of a Ford.  
  
Now Methos seemed to be the one with car problems, his stopped over near a '55 Chevy that flipped over caught on fire. Methos kept pounding the car, but it wouldn't get started, an Eldarado convertible came up behind him, ready to smash into him when he started up the car and got out of the way without a second to spare.  
  
"I swear, if he doesn't stop playing jokes on everyone, he's going to give someone a heart attack," Amanda said.  
  
"Well why should you worry?" Joe laughed, "It's not like he's the moron you're going to marry."  
  
Amanda checked her watch, 11:43, Methos took a quick glance at his watch, 11:43, Richie caught the time as well, and decided he better get out of there now. By now, the car was in pretty bad condition, wires and cables were hanging from the inside, it was a wonder the car was still running, basically only Methos, Duncan and Amber were left, so he drove the car over to where nobody else had crashed, and was ready to jump out the window. He tried, but he got caught, he looked back and saw his boots got caught in the cables.   
  
Richie knew that the car would go up in flames in a matter of seconds, and he had to get out of there before someone got suspicious, but it didnt' seem to be any good, he couldn't get out, he could hardly move. Richie didn't want to see what happened when he got blown up so he closed his eyes as hard as he could, then he heard something, it sounded like someone getting into the car, so he opened his eyes and looked up, and saw Amber get in the car, untangle his boots, and push him out.  
  
"What the....?" he muttered, dazed and confused.  
  
"Sorry Rich, but I tried to warn you," Amber said.  
  
Richie rolled down the ground a few feet away from the car, and when he got up, he saw the car blow up, flames smothered the car, black clouds of smoke filled the sky with fire literally exploding in them. It was then that the reality hit him that Amber's body was nowhere to be found, Duncan and Methos came running up to see if he was allright, he was still close to the car when it exploded.  
  
"What happened?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Where's Amber is what I want to know," Richie said, frantically looking around.  
  
"Hey! Hey! What's everyone looking at?"  
  
There was no doubt what the three of them just heard, they couldn't look anywhere, but up, and they saw Amber on top of a flagpole next to a building nearby.  
  
"Hey Richie!" she called, "that was a real rush, can we go back and do it again?"  
  
"Amber!" Duncan bellowed, "Get down from there before you get hurt!"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Amber slipped over to the roof of the building, took a long jump and fell in Duncan's arms.  
  
"Thanks for the catch, keep it up, maybe you'll be able to carry Amanda 'cross the threshold," Amber said.  
  
"Oh get down!" Duncan threw her out of his arms.  
  
"Duncan!" Amanda and Joe came running up, "What happened?"  
  
"I got stuck at the last minute and she got blown sky high on top of a pole," Richie explained.  
  
"I told you you should've switched cars with me," Amber said.  
  
"You sound happy!" Amanda almost laughed.  
  
"I am, that was fun, I haven't been blown that high since I had dynamite in my suitcase," Amber said.  
  
"If you need her to calm down," Methos said to Duncan, "when we get back home I think I might have a sedative for her."  
  
"Sledge hammer?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Yep," Methos said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
When they got back to the house, they narrowly missed being caught in a downpour, that would've been just great, first being bashed into, set on fire, and then drowning. But, everyone made it out alive as far as they knew, and everyone seemed calmed down, Amanda was just glad it was over.  
  
"Both of you had me worried, I'm just relieved everyone got out allright," Amanda said.  
  
"Not quite everyone, but nobody you need to worry about," Methos said.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Some of the Kamikaze drivers we ran off the road killed a few of the other drivers, although since everything went by so fast, and nothing can be proved, they won't be facing charges of manslaughter," Duncan said.  
  
"Oh...."  
  
"But, they're all in the hospital right now for what we did, they'll be in there for at least a week," Methos said, "by then I don't think they'll remember who we are."  
  
"You know you could've given me a heart attack if it was possible?" Amanda asked Duncan.  
  
"But, I didn't, and it's over," Duncan said, "be glad of that."  
  
"I am, I am, but promise me you won't do something stupid like that again!" Amanda pleaded.  
  
"Stupid?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Like pretending your car stopped working right before that Chevy was ready to bash into you," Amanda said.  
  
"That wasn't me, that was Methos', mine really did quit during the middle of the derby," Duncan said.  
  
"Even more reason for you NOT to do that again," Amanda said.  
  
"Amanda, will you quit worrying? Nothing happened to me," Duncan told her.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"I guess no matter how many times you've seen it happen, when you see someone at risk of dying, you're still bound to panic," Amber said.  
  
"Perhaps, I guess that would explain why I was worried when the car exploded," Richie replied.  
  
Amber took off her shirt which was beyond drowned, took one out of Richie's closet and slipped into it, "Still damp in spots, Rich."  
  
"I know," Richie came out of the bathroom, "I haven't felt like this since I got run off the road and into a river."  
  
"Cory Raines?" Amber asked.  
  
"Good memory," Richie said, "what about you?"  
  
"I feel like a weed after a heavy storm, I'm drooping," Amber replied.  
  
Richie took Amber in his arms and appeared ready to kiss her, but at the last moment, he drew back.  
  
"What's wrong?" Amber asked.  
  
"Nothing," Richie returned.  
  
"Don't you lie to me, something's bugging you, I can tell, I always know when something's eating you," Amber said.  
  
"Apparently you do." Richie sat at the foot of the bed and sighed, "the truth is, I have a confession to make."  
  
"You kill someone?" Amber asked, "If so, don't worry, we'll get a garbage bag and we'll...."  
  
"No!" Richie almost laughed, "That's not it, do you remember when we last saw each other?"  
  
"Yeah, near Christmas, I was getting ready to head my own way, now that kiss......that was something."  
  
"I know," Richie sounded gitty, "but, shortly after that...I.....I met someone."  
  
"Anyone I know?" Amber asked.  
  
"Probably not, anyway, we were together for a few weeks, then...a short while ago...she left," Richie said.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Amber, every time I was with her, I kept thinking about you, I was racked with guilt," Richie explained.  
  
But Amber didn't seem to be angry, Richie was in shock when he heard her laughing.  
  
"What?" Richie asked, feeling confused.  
  
"You thought, that I'd be mad at you for that?" Amber laughed.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Richie, I'm glad you found someone, I'm sorry she broke it off," Amber said, "I pity the woman who left, she don't know what she's missing."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
The derby had ended 2 hours ago, but Amanda was still shaken up a bit by the cold reality of it all.  
  
"It was a terrifying sight today, cars on fire, some run off the road, others bashing into each other too far for the drivers to live, and then Richie's car exploding...Immortal or not, I was glad when it was over," she said.  
  
"I know," Methos said, "I went down to the hospital earlier, a few of the other drivers died a little while ago."  
  
"Which ones?" Amanda asked.  
  
"One of them I put in a headlock for about a mile, two others, were ready to crash into our fenders when our cars stopped," Methos said.  
  
"Where's Joe?" Amanda asked.  
  
"In his room, resting," Methos said.  
  
Joe had been up half the night warning Duncan what to watch out for, so he was exhausted.  
  
Duncan came in the front door with a box in his hands.  
  
"Who delivers a package during the middle of a thunderstorm?" Duncan asked, closing the door with his foot.  
  
"Any idea who it's from?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No return address," Duncan said.  
  
"Really?" Methos asked, "I thought I told my friends to stop contacting me."  
  
Duncan opened the package and took out a book.  
  
"How to Turn on Women," Duncan's face grew bright red, "I think we've all basically covered that chapter by now."  
  
"Maybe someone found out about the wedding," Amanda said.  
  
"Impossible, other than everyone here, I haven't told anyone........" Duncan turned to Methos, "how bout you?"  
  
"Please, the only person I've told is Amber. And unless she told her friends across the alley, I think the message is pretty much confidential," Methos said.  
  
"I wouldn't put it past her," Duncan said, "but on the other hand, I don't think she'd want anyone talking about it."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Upstairs, Amber and Richie were in his room on the bed playing cards, shooting the breeze, and waiting for the weather to change.  
  
"The rain seems to be slowing down," Richie noticed.  
  
"Good," Amber said, "I still can't believe those drivers got killed, I know derbies get violent, but death..."  
  
"Hey, it could be worse," Richie said.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Could be a repeat of Mario's work, remember? 300 zombies," Richie said, "we never did find out how he did that."  
  
"Some things Mario did were best left unexplained," Amber said, "I'm glad he's gone. Gin."  
  
"Amber, we're playing poker," Richie reminded her.  
  
"I know, I'm saying, get me a glass of gin, maybe I can last till blackjack," Amber said.  
  
"Amber, what about your staying sober until you're 120?" Richie reminded her.  
  
"So I'll start tomorrow," Amber laid down her cards, "royal flush."  
  
Richie took the cards and shuffled them again, "So what were you up to before the police ran you out of Mrytle Beach?"  
  
"Nothing much, there wasn't a lot happening there, now when I was working down at the Bloody Palace, that was interesting," Amber said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Duncan, go see what's keeping Amber and Richie, I told them dinner would be ready around 5:30," Amanda said.  
  
Duncan went up to Richie's room and saw Richie had closed the door, he was about to head in when he heard a disturbing noise coming from the both of them.   
  
Duncan could only listen on in shock, he heard screaming, heavy breathing, it sounded like they were thrasing each other on the bed, and then he heard something really disturbing.  
  
"Amber, get your nails out of me!" Richie said.  
  
"Well your nails aren't what's digging into me!" Amber replied.  
  
Then he heard both of them scream as obviously more weight was inflicted on the bed, Duncan decided to step in and stop it right now...  
  
"OKAY YOU 2, KNOCK IT OFF!" Duncan stormed in.  
  
Duncan immediately felt like a jackass, he saw Amber standing over Richie, who was laid down on the bed in a pretzel shape.  
  
"What in the hell is going on in here?" Duncan asked.  
  
"I was showing Richie some of the wrestling moves I learned when I worked at the bloody palace," Amber innocently explained.  
  
Duncan stood there silent for a minute while Amber and Richie exchanged confused looks.  
  
"What is it?" Richie asked.  
  
"I---I---I'm sorry----I didn't know," was all Duncan could mutter.  
  
Joe came up the stairs and into the room, "hey you guys, Amanda says it's time for dinner, come on..."  
  
"We're coming," Amber said.  
  
Duncan knocked some sense into himself and headed downstairs, Richie followed behind while Amber stayed in the room to clean up the mess they made while wrestling. Richie slipped down the stairs and found the book How to Turn on Women lying on the table. He picked it up and figured maybe he could learn a thing or two, so he turned the flap, and in an instant, shots rang out, everyone ran into the room and saw him on the floor lying in a puddle of blood!  
  
End of chapter 4 


	5. The Threat

The Threat  
  
"Richie!" Amber came running down the stairs, "Richie!" She ran into the dining room and fell next to Richie's body, "What happened?"  
  
Duncan picked up the 'book, "I think we know."  
  
Amber looked up and saw the book was in fact a zip gun bomb, it seemed that Richie had been shot 3 times, and was dead for the time being.  
  
Duncan found something in the back flap of the book, a note reading: You killed my brother, now you suffer exposure and a bloody death yourself.  
  
Methos helped Duncan move Richie over onto the couch until he revived. Amanda picked up the note and read it.  
  
"What in the world is this?" she asked.  
  
"I wish I knew," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
An hour later, Richie was alive again, and apparently being dead hadn't affected his memory, the first thing he said when he finished gasping was, "Who shot me?"  
  
"Didn't anyone ever tell you reading was bad for your health?" Amber asked.  
  
"Huh?" Richie asked.  
  
Amber opened the zip gun so Richie could see where the bullets had been fired, Richie pulled up his shirt to find the wounds.  
  
"So, he's alive now?" Methos came in the room.  
  
"Yeah, apparently someone sent us a zip gun, and Richie got blown into next Tuesday," Amber said.  
  
"That's the package with no return address, right?" Methos asked Duncan.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I knew I told my friends to stop contacting me," Methos said.  
  
"I'm glad YOU'RE finding a good time out of this," Richie said, "did something come with that thing? A death threat maybe?  
  
"As a matter of fact, there was," Duncan handed it to Richie.  
  
"What do you think it is?" Amber asked.  
  
"Sounds like it might be a vendetta starting," Richie said.  
  
"Oh that's okay, I've had more experience with vendettas than Jack Diamond," Amber said, "being in cahoots with Al Capone's gang, it was no easy task."  
  
"If you ask me," Richie said, "I think it's someone seeking revenge of the death of his brother, who may coincidentally have been one of the crazy drivers that almost got us killed in the derby."  
  
"It makes sense, but what does he mean by exposure?" Amber asked.  
  
"I wish I knew," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Can you imagine if we get married here?" Amanda asked Duncan, "we'll never get any rest, death threats, zip guns, explosions..."  
  
"Sounds like a regular Saturday night, 1931," Duncan said.  
  
"How can you be so calm? I mean, this guy could be an Immortal, whoever he is," Amanda said.  
  
"I doubt it, Immortals aren't smart enough to write death threats to go with a zipgun," Duncan said.  
  
"How do you know?" Amanda asked.  
  
"They call the people they're going to kill and tell them to open the book," Duncan said.  
  
"Experience?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Quite," Duncan replied.  
  
"It's going to be hanious getting ready for this wedding," Amanda said, "what're we going to do?"  
  
"Well if worst comes to worse, we could have the wedding here, Methos COULD be the minister if he had to," Duncan said.  
  
"This is going to be one crazy wedding," Amanda said, "Febuary 21st, it's going to be wonderful no matter how crazy it is."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
The next morning, Amanda was down in the kitchen making coffee when Richie came down.  
  
"You look like a hurricane hit," Amanda said.  
  
"For some reason I feel like it too," Richie replied.  
  
"2 cups, coming up," Amanda turned off the burner, "didn't you sleep well last night?"  
  
"For a while, until about 2:14 in the morning, I woke up and found a disturbance," Richie said.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I woke up with a 16-year-old asleep at the foot of the bed, 5 feet 5 inches, kinda cute but real annoying," Richie said.  
  
"What was Amber doing at the foot of your bed?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I don't know," Richie answered.  
  
"What did she say?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I didn't ask her, I just picked her up like a sack of potatoes and put her in the other side of the bed and that was that," Richie said, "No questions asked."  
  
"What about today?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I didn't ask her then, either, she never brought it up so I figured 'why bother?' so I just went on like I normally do," Richie said.  
  
Just then, they heard a loud explosion come from nearby, they jumped and headed for the front door, but that seemed to be where the noise was coming from, so they ran out the back door and around to the front. Duncan and Methos were outside on the sidewalk yelling at each other and at Joe who was still inside the house. A bomb had gone off, the entire front porch was gone!  
  
"Oh my God!" Amanda said.  
  
"What happened?" Richie asked.  
  
Duncan and Methos started talking at the same time, trying to explain what happened, but it was all too much too fast, Richie yelled at them to shut up but he couldn't be heard over it. Finally Amber, who for some reason was on the roof at the time, had to yell at all of them, and jump down from the roof down to Duncan for them to listen.  
  
"I saw it as it happened," she said, "Mac came out here and Methos bumped into him, and they fell on the porch, and as they got up, the the explosion started under the floorboards, knocking the porch into next Tuesday."  
  
"What were you doing on the roof?" Joe asked.  
  
"Trying to get electrocuted, they say we're supposed to be getting thunderstorms today," Amber said.  
  
"Wait a minute!" Richie said, "If there was a bomb under the porch, why didn't the whole house blow?"  
  
"Maybe it was a home-made one," Amber said, "they're never as good as they should be."  
  
"If it was a home-made type of bomb, this place would be on fire," Amanda told her, "we wouldn't just be missing a front porch."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Duncan decided that they would have to rebuild the porch, this time, one without an easy to get into foundation, but rather one made out of solid limestone, making it rather difficult to put another bomb under it. But not before inspecting underneath to see if any residue could be found and analyzed.  
  
"I just don't get what's going on," Amanda said.  
  
"Me either," Richie said, "I mean, if this is someone wanting revenge from that derby, it's not like we could've handled it. It was either them or us, and frankly, I voted for us," Richie said.  
  
"Richie, how much coffee have you had today?" Amber asked.  
  
"Um...3 pots," Richie said, putting down the coffe pot.  
  
"How many sugar cubes have you put in it?" Amber asked.  
  
"Uh...4...5...dozen," Richie answered.  
  
Amber put the lid on the sugarbowl and took Richie by the arm and helped him up, "follow me," she said.  
  
"Where're we going?" Richie asked.  
  
"We're going for about a 5 mile walk to wear that caffeine out of your system," Amber replied, "we'll be back for lunch."  
  
"I'll remember that," Amanda closed the door behind them, "Duncan!"  
  
"What is it?" Duncan came into the kitchen.  
  
"You two have been out there for almost an hour, have you found anything?" Amanda asked.  
  
"A bit," Methos said, "a few containers of gun powder, sulfur, and a few wires that were obviously disconnected, otherwise we could've been blown sky high altogether."  
  
"So Amber was right? It was a home-made bomb?" Amanda asked.  
  
"It would seem that way," Methos said.  
  
Amanda's heart jumped into her throat when the phone rang, Duncan answered.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hello MacLeod."  
  
"Hello stranger," Duncan fronted a bit of an accent, "do I know you?"  
  
"Funny MacLeod, you'll need humor when I get through with you."  
  
"Allright, who is this?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Fred Glover, you killed my brother in the derby, now I'm getting my revenge."  
  
"Oh.........so you're the one who threatened to expose and dispose of us, huh?" Duncan asked.  
  
"That's right, I've got everything figured out, the 4 of you planned that explosion, hoping it'd kill my brother...it did, and now you're going to pay!"  
  
"Oh please, what're you going to do?"  
  
Duncan wasn't taking this seriously, and he didn't see any reason to, it was probably just someone who heard of the deaths and was making a crank call regarding it. But what the man had to say next convinced him this was a serious matter...  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"From what I've gathered, this guy thinks that the reason Richie's car exploded was because we wanted to kill his brother, a city parade is coming up in a week, something to do with the new college students and the alumni of the university... He said he's got a foolproof plan to expose us there, and if we don't show up, he'll come looking for us," Duncan said, "The whole matter sounds ridiculous, I don't get it."  
  
"I think I do," Amber said, "I saw something simaliar when I was in Oregon, this guy rigged his car to blow up when his rival came by the street, and his brother saw the whole thing, and since the guy who killed him had done it with 5 other friends, they blackmailed them to showing up during a public event, all 6 of them. Then they exposed what they did, and they were sent to jail, after they got out, the brother killed all of them."  
  
"Wonderful," Richie said, "first I get shot, then, the front porch gets blasted into orbit, now this guy's trying to publicly humiliate us before we get hauled off to jail," Richie said.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it Rich," Amanda said.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I've been talking to Joe, he said the only real thing we'd have to worry about would be if this guy is an Immortal as well, and I've been making some calls, he lives about 12 blocks away, we could pass by there sometime, maybe catch him as he's heading out, and if he isn't Immortal, we don't have any real problems," Amanda said.  
  
"You kidding?" Amber asked, "Amanda, I've seen violent people, it's a lot worse than you think it is, the things people can do...it's not just mortals who get it the worst in the end with the normal torture, it's hell, remember that horse from The Godfather? Imagine waking up to a human head like that, Immortal or not, take your pick."  
  
"Well what're we going to do?" Amanda asked.  
  
"I don't know, but I think she might be on a roll, we don't know who this fruitcake is, we don't know what he's thinking, hell, we don't even know what he is," Richie said, "he could have anything planned for us."  
  
"I have an idea," Methos said.  
  
"WHAT?" everyone asked.  
  
"WHy don't we convince this guy that he's got us worried about the exposure and demise," MEthos said.  
  
"I don't quite follow," Richie said.  
  
"Pretend you're scared," Methos explained.  
  
"Pretend I'm scared?" Richie showed Methos his obviously unsteady hand, "what do you think that's from? Enthusiasm?"  
  
"Probably still caffiene in your system," Amber came back into the room, "but I have an idea that'll be well worth the trouble, come on!"  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Hey Richie," Amber knocked on his doorway.  
  
"What is it?" Richie asked.  
  
"Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?" Amber came in.  
  
"Nervous?"  
  
"Add 'wreck' to it, and you got it."  
  
"No problem, I'm a wreck myself tonight, it'll be nice to have some company," Richie said.  
  
"After today, I don't know anyone who isn't a wreck," Amber said, "except for Methos."  
  
"Methos lived through just about everything, he's an exception," RIchie said.  
  
"Sorry if I caused any trouble last night," Amber said.  
  
"Last night?" Richie asked.  
  
"Yeah, either you knew I was in here or I'm sleepwalking again," Amber said.  
  
"Well yeah, but I didn't think anything of it," Richie said.  
  
"Good, neither did I," Amber replied.  
  
"But why were you sleeping on my feet?" Richie laughed.  
  
"Your feet made a better pillow than the bedpost down there," Amber said.  
  
Richie laughed out the side of his mouth, for a day of nearly being blown up and being a wreck, he was enjoying himself. It was then that Richie realize Amber had a blank look on her face.  
  
"You okay, Kid?"  
  
"Just shocked...Here we are, at risk of being blown up, you got shot 3 times, someone's threatening to expose us to the public, and then kill us, and meanwhile, I'm sitting around here worried about you because your love life has dropped from zenith to the grounds, because a dumb girl didn't want to be with you anymore for whatever reason she had...also meanwhile, Duncan and Amanda are trying to figure out how they're going to get married in 4 weeks, they keep ending up in the wrong state, they can't find a minister, I'm not going to wear a dress, and...you're not Catholic. So I don't know, other than I say, take a few chances, and see what happens, otherwise it's going to be 3 years later, and we're still going to be having this conversation," Amber said.  
  
"Sounds like you've picked up logical thinking while you were away," Richie laughed.  
  
"I'll admit I've changed a bit, look, I haven't seen you for almost a month, what about you? What's this moron's name that left you? Give me her name, I'll track her down and find out what's wrong with her," Amber said.  
  
"Well, I guess you haven't changed all that much..."  
  
"What time is it?" Amber asked.  
  
"12:45, why? Wait a minute, what happened to your watch?" Richie asked.  
  
"Have to find out, someone took it from me while I was at the police station, I never got it back," Amber replied.  
  
"So...what do you think?" Richie asked.  
  
"About this guy blowing us to bits or about the fact that because of this moron, we have no front porch?" Amber asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
By which, Amber knew Richie meant 'the whole thing'.  
  
"I told you earlier, I say we give this guy something to worry aboout, we could go with my plan, and we'd be rid of him in no time," Amber said.  
  
"What happened in Oregon?" Richie asked.  
  
"You mean the with exposure? The guy who blackmailed them, had them show up as part of the parade, but by the time the show was over...or I should say, when he declared it over...he had them go down a dead-end lane, had them come out, and had 6 police officers take them back to the main street," Amber said.  
  
"So you really think this idea of yours will work?" Richie asked.  
  
"Of course, it's fool-proof, the best plan to hit the streets, since the parade in Animal House," Amber said, "but it's nothing to lose sleep over."  
  
"I guess you're right," Richie said, "in any case, what's that guy gonna do next? Fold the bed up with us in it?" he laughed.  
  
After Richie and Amber got into bed, Richie turned off the lights, then there was a sudden problem, Richie turned the lights on again, and they found that the bed's legs broke and the springs wore out of the bed.  
  
End of chapter 5 


	6. Revenge

\Revenge  
  
"I say you can," Amanda said.  
  
"And I say you can't," Duncan replied.  
  
"You can," Amanda returned.  
  
"Now listen, the two of us have probably as much knowledge of the world as anybody, you can't be serious with going with this idea Amber has," Duncan said.  
  
"Why not? She saw this happen once before, she knows what to do," Amanda said.  
  
"She is suggesting we re-introduce everyone to the Deathmobile, Amanda, it's crazy, I won't do it!" Duncan said.  
  
"Well if you won't, I will, one of us has to have a plan out of this, it's just too bad the person who does doesn't have you behind her," Amanda said.  
  
Amanda went into the house and headed over to the kitchen, she put the coffee pot on the burner, but the first few times, no flames came out, for a minute she wondered if it was going to explode. Finally, the flames spewed from the burner, things had been so crazy the last couple of days, Amanda was starting to question just about everything. Just then, Richie headed down the stairs and into the kitchen.  
  
"Morning Amanda," was all he had to say.  
  
"How did you sleep last night?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Fine, until the bed broke, then I woke up with Amber's foot in my mouth," Richie said.  
  
"What was she doing back in your bedroom?" Amanda asked.  
  
"She didn't say," Richie said.  
  
"So you asked her this time?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No, she asked if she could stay last night," Richie said.  
  
"She's been staying with you a lot lately," Amanda said.  
  
"Twice in two nights, if you call that a lot," Richie replied.  
  
"Richie...I love you and I'm worried about you with her...that said, I don't think it's a good idea for you two to be sleeping in the same room anymore, letalone, the same bed," Amanda said.  
  
"Amanda, there's nothing to worry about, trust me," Richie said.  
  
"I'd like to, but I can't," Amanda said, "I know you all too well to trust you."  
  
"Do you really think that there's something going on between me and Amber?" Richie asked.  
  
"Honestly, no, it's just that we saw you after you and Kim broke up, and..."  
  
"What is the big deal with me and Kim? We were together, we broke up, end of story, at least Amber can take a hint when to stop," Richie said.  
  
"You told her about Kim?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yeah, last night after the bed collapsed, we couldn't sleep, so we started talking, and I told her about Kim, the whole story, every detail, right up to the night she left. And she didn't say anything after," Richie said.  
  
"And you're okay with that?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Yeah," Richie replied, "so, what're you and Mac yelling about?"  
  
"Oh...he's being a stick in the mud about this whole Dooms Day project, he doesn't want anything to do with it," Amanda said.  
  
"That's okay, we'll do it ourselves," Richie said.  
  
"Hey Richie," Amber came down the stairs, "What's going on?"  
  
"Duncan MacLeod the immortal boy scout doesn't want any part in this revenge thing," Amanda said.  
  
"What?" Amber asked, "Why not?"  
  
"He just doesn't really see the point in it for some reason," Amanda said.  
  
"Someone tries to blow us up, and he doesn't see the point in getting revenge?" Amber asked.  
  
"I guess not," Amanda said, "he's always been a stiff."  
  
"Well then count me in," Methos said.  
  
"This isn't going to work," Amanda realized, "if it works out like you said, then there's going to be 4 guards at the parade and only 3 of you, it won't work!"  
  
"Don't worry your millenium old head," Amber said, "I've got the whole thing figured out, we can't lose no matter what happens."  
  
"I hope so, it sure sounds like Duncan's set in his ways, I don't think he'll be changing his mind," Amanda said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Hey Riiiiiicccchhiiiieeee!"  
  
"Whhhaaaaaaattt?" Richie replied.  
  
"This package just came for you," Amber handed Richie a package the size of a shoebox, "any idea who it's from?"  
  
"Na, the rain smudged the return address," Richie opened the package and took out a book, "uhoh."  
  
"This guy just doesn't want to give up, does he?" Amber asked.  
  
"Apparently not," Richie held the book away from him and opened the flap, nothing, "well whadda ya know, fooled ya."  
  
Amber went over to see the book, a book of records and myths and the deaths at the hands of Jack the Ripper.  
  
"They must've mixed up the names, this looks like a book I'd get, but I don't remember sending for one," Amber said.  
  
Richie turned the book towards him and flipped through a few pages, and Amber was shot 3 times in the chest!   
  
"What happened?" Amanda came running in.  
  
"Same thing, new victim," Amber replied.  
  
The blood was flowing fast, Amber knew she only had a few seconds left, she grabbed Richie's hand and squeezed it until she died. Richie took her lifeless body in his arms to lay her on the couch, Amanda flipped through the pages and in the back, there was another note.  
  
'2 days left until you are exposed, nervous yet?'  
  
Amanda filled up with fear, the thought of being terroized was starting to take an effect on everybody. It was then that Amanda realized if they didn't stop this guy from exposing them and then possibly killing them, the taunting would never end.  
  
"Richie..."  
  
Amanda knew that now they HAD to get Duncan to help, whether or not he approved.  
  
"Talk to him Amanda, get him to do it, make him listen," Richie said.  
  
"I'll talk to him Richie, you stay here incase she revives," Amanda told him.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
"Duncan, you have to do it," Amanda told him.  
  
"And suppose I don't?" Duncan asked.  
  
"Duncan, if this keeps up, we'll never get any rest," Amanda said.  
  
"Another threat to the list isn't anything to get worked up about," Duncan said.  
  
"Amber's DEAD, Duncan! She's practically your daughter, now you tell me it doesn't bother you, even though she is Immortal, when she gets killed!" Amanda demanded.  
  
"You really believe that, don't you?" Duncan asked.  
  
"You're the closest thing she's had in 5 years, besides, she and Richie respect you," Amanda told him.  
  
"No, you're thinking of Methos, Richie might have some respect for me, but Amber respects Methos," Duncan said.  
  
"She likes Methos, but she respects you, Duncan, she saved your head more than once, she and Richie tried helping you when you were upset about Tessa, those two respect you, Duncan, don't be a fool," Amanda said.  
  
"Allright," Duncan said.  
  
"Allright you'll do it?" Amanda asked.  
  
"No, allright I believe you," Duncan replied.  
  
"Duncan!" Amanda said.  
  
It was then that Amanda noticed the whole time she was aruging with Duncan, he kept going back and forth, measuring parts of his car.  
  
"What're you doing?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Getting ready to make a call to the auto shop," Duncan said.  
  
"Why?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Well, if this plan is going to go into effect, we're going to need some cars with good speed, power, and it wouldn't hurt if they were a bit fancy...so, I'm going to call and see if they have any slightly used cars that we can use for Saturday," Duncan said.  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
Saturday came, the parade had started, the alumnis were viewing the parade from the best seats possible, they were enjoying seeing the new generation of their college gathered together on the floats, in the military act, and in the band. Fred Glover was waiting nearby, he had phoned the other night telling them to get in the parade at 11:15, he checked his watch, 10:58. The 4 guards were right behind him, waiting...  
  
At the house, Richie, Duncan, Methos, and Amber had put together a float of a large Russian tank. Richie, down in the driver's seat, checked his watch, 10:59, and they headed out of there. They told Amanda and Joe to meet them downtown, this was going to be interesting. Fred was still waiting for them, he just told them to see to it they got in the parade, they just never told him what it was.   
  
"Are you sure they said 11:15?" Joe asked.  
  
"I'm just telling you what they told me," Amanda said.  
  
"Well if they don't get here soon..." Joe looked around.  
  
"Here they come!" Amanda noticed.  
  
Up came the Russian tank, getting everyone's attention, the people on the floats ahead noticed they were driving rather fast, it started to turn into a repeat of the demolition derby, the tank bumped into a float that had 12 college students on it, knocking some of them off, others got thrown off, it was a dead giveaway of who they were.  
  
"There they are!" Fred told the guards, "That has to be them!"  
  
Fred got up to lead them down a narrow alleyway, by now, most of the other floats had been run out of the path, at the same time, several smoke bombs had been set off, creating a large distraction. Inside the float, Richie had gotten smash-happy and was driving as wrecklessly as he could, it rocked them from side to side, Duncan and Methos were in the back, pressed against the walls and laughing, this was going to be a day to remember.  
  
"Hold on," Richie warned them, "Ramming speeeeed!"  
  
Richie sped up the car by 20 miles and drove directly into the smoke, it was there that they tore out of the float, and decided to tear loose with their plan. Amber slipped off the side and let out a loud whistle, as in letting in reinforcements.  
  
Fred stopped dead in his tracks when someone from the crowd screamed and pointed, out of the smoke came a morbid black Linconln Continental with red streaks on the sides, and the front of the car had been turned into a long mouth, written on the side of the car in red bloody letters 'The Deathmobile II, the terror lives on'.   
  
And everyone was in for a surprise when that car was accompanied by 3 others almost exactly the same, Fred got up and yelled at the guards, "there they are! Get them!"  
  
But it was too little, too late, out of the smoke also came 9 other cars of the same type, ramming into everything and everyone, somehow managing to avoid each other, terrorizing the crowds, sending them off running.   
  
"What in the hell is going on around here?" Fred wondered.  
  
One car came to a screeching halt next to him, the black window rolled down and the driver, an obvious teenager took off his sunglasses and replied, "Just a little thing we like to call revenge."  
  
The teen screeched an awful laugh as he stomped on the gas and tore out of there, swinging from side to side along the streets, banging into walls, power poles, mechanic garages, all the cars drove out of there and down an empty road. When they came to a halt, everyone got out of thier cars, as Amanda and Joe came heading their way.  
  
"Duncan, that was wonderful! I've never seen so many people that terrified!" Amanda said.  
  
"Well, let's not forget who the brains of the outfit was," Duncan said.  
  
"That's right, and who are all these people?" Amanda asked.  
  
"Let me explain, the reason I decided that we should go along with this plan in the first place was I knew the key thing was to have us outnumber the guards, so I made a few calls around the neighborhood and had a few old friends come in, this is Jimmy, Suicide, Tony, Scarface, Kenny, Billy, Charlie, Mitch and Eddie, they've been competing in the derbies around here for the last 3 years, so I figured they'd be perfect for this," Amber said.  
  
"But you didn't tell us about it," Amanda said.  
  
"Us as in you and Joe, correct, us as in us too, you're wrong on that one, she told us, she just decided to keep it under the table," Richie explained, "You know, superstition."  
  
Richie grabbed Amber by the collar of her trenchcoat and muttered in her ear, "How much did you tell these guys about us?"  
  
"I just told them we entered the derby, some people tried to run us off the road, we ran off a few, a couple died, and the brother of one wants to tell the story to the public during the event today, so we had a plan involving contact like the derby, and we needed some backup drivers," Amber replied.  
  
"Well why didn't you say so?" Richie asked.  
  
"You never asked," Amber replied, "and on top of that, Scarface here slipped a note to the police telling them that Glover over there planned to have us killed, so now he's going to jail for 30 years."  
  
*************************************************************************************************  
  
That was some stunt you pulled today, I'm glad it's over," Amanda said.  
  
"Me too, for 2 miles we nearly suffocated in that thing, I was glad when the damn float tore," Duncan said.  
  
"So we're still stuck here for another 3 days at least," Amanda reminded him.  
  
"I know, but it won't be all that awful," Duncan said, "the worst of it is over, the next 3 days should go by easy."  
  
That's what he thought... 


End file.
